Spain: Indian convicted for terror plot, to appeal in apex court

December 17, 2009 20:29 IST

Benet Salellas, the lawyer representing Roshan Jamal Khan, an Indian resident who was convicted by Spain's National high court Audencia Nacional for eight-and-a-half years, confirmed to rediff.com that he will file a petition in the Spanish Supreme Court challenging the conviction.

Khan was convicted along with 10 Pakistani men by an anti-terrorism court in Spain for conspiring to bomb the Barcleone metro.

Khan, a Mumbai resident, has been in Spanish prison for over two years.

Salellas said the judgment was unfair and that the defence was surprised in the manner the case was conducted in the court.

Apparently, Judge Manuela Fernandez Pardo gave the judgment based on the deposiution of a "protested witness" (whose identity was not relvealed) who is a member of the French Secret Service, Salellas said.

The witness said that he was present during the two days when all the 11 convicted men in the case were planning a conspiracy to bomb Barcelone Metro, the lawyer said.

Khan expressed hope that the Spanish Supreme Court would reverse the judgment as it is based on "fabricated evidence", Salellas said.